Dutchman named as BT chief

Little known Dutchman Ben Verwaayen has been appointed chief executive of Britain's biggest telecoms group BT at a salary of £700,000 in succession to Sir Peter Bonfield.

Mr Verwaayen, 49, will become CEO on 1 February when Mr Bonfield leaves. He is currently vice chairman of US telecom's equipment maker, Lucent Technologies, which recently laid off 20 per cent of its UK labour force.

In addition to his salary, which is £100,000 less than that of Mr Bonfield, Mr Verwaayen will also receive performance related bonuses of up to 130 per cent of his salary and a one-off grant of £1 million worth of share options.